The healing effect of cute elements

Abstract

Consumers around the world use retail therapy to alleviate negative emotions. In response, marketers have incorporated cute elements into product design, capitalizing on the demand for products that provide healing effects. Grounded on attention restoration theory, this study explores how baby and whimsical cuteness generate feelings of healing. It also clarifies the moderating effect of product type and examines whether feelings of healing affect consumer subjective well‐being, product attitudes, and purchase intentions. The results indicate that products with cute elements generate stronger feelings of healing. Baby cuteness is relatively more effective than whimsical cuteness. Cuteness arouses feelings of healing through the mechanisms of fascination and extent. Incorporating cute elements with utilitarian (vs. hedonic) products enhances these healing effects. Feelings of healing mediate the cuteness effect on well‐being and attitudinal responses. These findings are valuable to marketing theory and practice and consumer well‐being.

The cuter, the better? The impact of cuteness on intention to purchase AI voice assistants: A moderated serial-mediation model

“…Cuteness is a double-edged sword. Cute image will make people feel warm (Lu et al, 2021), feelings of healing (Chou et al, 2022), readiness to care, and social engagement (Borgi and Cirulli, 2016). On the other hand, people may perceive something cute as merely playful, whimsical, less serious, and lacking in gravitas or competence.…”

“…Based on consumer perception, Lu et al (2021) showed that cute appearance leads to empathy and increased brand trust, increasing intention to purchase. Chou et al (2022) found that incorporating elements of cuteness into product design resulted in stronger purchase intentions and improved consumer attitudes toward the product. In AI voice assistant research, McLean and Osei-Frimpong (2019) suggested that designers consider providing a look that matches the user's home design.…”

“…Previous studies only identified the influence of perceived cuteness on intention to purchase. Cuteness has been shown to be a significant indicator of consumer goodwill and brand loyalty (Lu et al, 2021), attitude toward the brand (Shen, 2020), and intention to purchase (Chou et al, 2022). Moreover, social presence plays a useful role in AI voice assistant adoption.…”

Effects of anthropomorphized virus warnings and perceived cuteness on compliance intention

“…Branded cute emoticons with whimsical and kindchenschema cuteness were found to generate perceived playfulness and brand engagement (Lee and Hsieh, 2019). Cuteness distracts people from the complex problems of modern life (Granot et al, 2014), and products with cute elements have healing effects (Chou et al, 2022). Consumers respond more positively to environmental appeals featuring cuteness due to feelings of tenderness (Wang et al, 2017).…”

“…This study also expands the literature on cuteness, especially regarding the adverse consequences of marketing communication efforts. Cuteness has various desirable effects, such as positive affective responses (Chou et al, 2022;Steinnes et al, 2019), careful behavior (Sherman et al, 2009), prosocial or sustainable behavior (Shin and Mattila, 2021;Wang et al, 2017), favorable brand attitude (Lee and Hsieh, 2019) and consumer tolerance (Lv et al, 2021).…”